The Nuggets and Nene are playing a dangerous game of chicken that needs to end before both parties get hurt.

Nene would be dumb to walk out those arena doors as a free agent. The Nuggets would be stupid to let him go. So why let a little thing like $50 million stand in the way of a beautiful relationship?

Do the deal already.

The last great act of labor peace in the NBA before all heck breaks loose between players and owners should be Nene signing a contract extension with the Nuggets before the clock strikes midnight at the end of Thursday.

When I asked Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri how the nature of negotiations would change should the team be unable to reach an agreement with Nene this week, his response was telling.

“I don’t even want to go there,” Ujiri said. “Nene is very important to us. So we want to attack it the best way we can this week.”

After more than 500 games and a successful battle against cancer, has Nene worn a Nuggets uniform for the last time?

It might be too strong to suggest it’s now or never for Nene to remain with the team. The need for urgency from both sides in negotiations, however, must be underlined.

If Nene opts out of the final year of a deal due to pay him $11.6 million next season and tests the waters of free agency rather than negotiate a contract extension in the scant hours that remain during this NBA fiscal year, it’s possible the 28-year-old big man from Brazil will re-sign with the Nuggets.

But don’t bet on it.

Why?

While we realize Josh Kroenke now sits in the big chair once occupied by his father at the Pepsi Center, the legacy of Stan Kroenke still has legs as rich and strong as a full-bodied merlot the old man is fond of sipping.

So also know this: History suggests any player or team executive who attempts to leverage a perceived position of weakness from the Kroenke family often ends up with a swift kick in the pants rather than a fatter wallet.

In the crusade for an NBA championship, Nene is ill-suited to play Batman or Robin. After nine seasons in the league, the 6-foot-11 center has never been named to the All- Star Game. This likable giant is too gentle of spirit to grab true greatness by the scruff of the neck.

Although Nene is dependable for 14 points and seven rebounds per night, does anybody buy a ticket to see him? For that reason alone, paying Nene in the neighborhood of $50 million for the next four seasons would seem to be a primary argument that NBA owners should fight to roll back salaries.

Nene, however, is worth the price to Denver.

With Timofey Mozgov available for duty at center, Nene deserves the belated opportunity to play significant minutes at power forward, where his combination of size and quickness should create mismatches.

In Ty Lawson and Andre Miller, the Nuggets have two point guards with the natural inclination to assist Nene for easy baskets.

While Nene will never be an intimidator, he provides more presence in the lane than New Orleans free agent David West, who’s older and softer and turns the definition of a power forward into an oxymoron.

Nene would be ill-advised to leave Denver because he is too young to sacrifice millions of dollars to join a contender at a deeply discounted rate, and he lacks the ego required to be the centerpiece of a rebuilding project for a downtrodden team such as Golden State.

While drafting Kenneth Faried of Morehead State created more buzz than you might expect from the 22nd pick in the opening round, retaining Nene is far more critical to the Nuggets.

“We’re going to try very hard to get it done this week. And Nene will make a decision. He knows he is very wanted here,” Ujiri said.

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